Yangtse and the Southwest

Re: Yangtse and the Southwest

Hi Andrea,

Our Destination Manager has advised that your Tour Leader will be able to let you know everything there is to do on your trip as soon as you arrive, they have a wealth of up to date knowledge and lots of ideas to suit all tastes. If you are spending extra time in Beijing you will find that your 2 days will be filled easily, you could spend a whole day wandering around the back streets of the old quarter. Be sure to try a traditional "Hot Pot" and some "Peking Duck" wherever possible!

Hope this helps a bit?

Re: Yangtse and the Southwest

Thanks for the reply Amy. I did an ImTrav tour last year in Egypt and our tour leader did a great job of letting us know what our options were on our free days. However, it would be nice to know some of our options and the prices before we go, as it makes it easier for budgeting. Perhaps for future tours, an email could be sent out to all participants suggesting alternative activities and what the cost would be. I just like to have everything planned out before I go

Re: Yangtse and the Southwest

Hi Andrea,

Thanks for your reply, I will ask our team in China for some suggestions for you, does that sound good? In the meantime if you are trying to work out your budget then you will find the country dossier very handy. Please download your China Country Dossier if you haven

Re: Yangtse and the Southwest

Hi Andrea,

I have just returned from this trip only yesterday and it was awesome, awesome, awesome!!!

Am still a bit jet-lagged so I will post more tomorrow when I am feeling a bit more "normal" but here are a few tips:

1/ If you can afford a few extra days on either side of your tour I would suggest spending either 1 or 2 days extra in Hong Kong at the start of the tour, followed by 1 or 2 extra days in Beijing at the end of the tour. Also, as this trip doesn't go to Shanghai I now wish I had taken a few more days off and headed down to Shanghai on the train for a few days.

2/ although there are a few days free here and there during the tour you will find that you won't be short of things to do. The cooking school in Yangshou was excellent as was the light show. The bike rides in each town were great fun as well. Don't worry about this though as your tour leader will help you decide on which are the best options.

3/ if you are a "shopper" make sure that you leave plenty of room in your bags as there is so much to buy!!!!! I ended up sending a box of stuff home via China Post half way through the tour as it was cheap to send a box via sea mail and it gave me more room in my bag for more souvenirs!

If you have any questions please put them on this forum and I will answer them ASAP. Overall it was one of the best trips that I have ever done and I wish the tour had gone on for 3 months instead of 3 weeks.

Highlights were definitely the Panda Research Centre (there are currently 5 baby pandas), Terracotta Warriors and the Great Wall just to name a few.

Re: Yangtse and the Southwest

Hi aussiechick,
Thanks for the reply. I love hearing from people who have already taken the trip! We will have one extra day at the beginning of our tour in Hong Kong and two extra days at the end in Beijing. What did you do for your day in Hong Kong? Is there anything within walking distance from the hotel or will we have to find some sort of transportation?
Here's a couple more things that I've been wondering about as well. Hope you don't mind all the questions
What was the availability of laundry facilities like and what was the cost? How did you find the overnight trains? What was the best town for shopping and what sort of souviners did you bring back? For the hike on the Great Wall, is it really 5 hours? That sounds really excessive to me, but fun at the same time.
I'll stop with the questions now so you can catch up on your sleep! If you have any pictures, I'd love to see them too!

Re: Yangtse and the Southwest

Hi Amy,

Any info that you can provide would be greatly appreciated. I've already looked at the China dossier and made a rough budget but any extra money advice always helps.

Thanks again,
Andrea

Re: Yangtse and the Southwest

Hi Andrea,

It

Re: Yangtse and the Southwest

Hi Andrea

I've not done this trip but returned from China (with Im Trav) only a few weeks ago.

Laundry .... always close to the hotels, cheap and efficient (usually overnight or "in by 9am, done by 5pm".

Trains ... Chinese trains are fantastic! Clean and well organised. There are always people who will want to talk to you (if only in sign language). The staff do their best to help. Plentiful hot water for tea & soup (the ubiquitous noodles are everywhere ).

And remember ... you're not travelling alone. You will always have other group members and that wonderful person with the title Tour Leader. Oh the joy of having someone else take care of booking your train travel and ensuring you have the right carriage.

About your extra time in Beijing .... the only difficulty I found was choosing between all the things that I wanted to do. It's an incredible city and there are lots and lots of things to do within easy reach of your hotel.

The Great Wall .... the section that Im Trav takes people to is away from the usual mellee of tourists and hawkers. Whilst it is not a stroll in the park, there is beautiful scenery to admire and the sense of achievement is ... wow! Some of us carried enough water for the whole walk whilst others carried only a moderate amount and bought more along the way (there are a few intrepid individuals who make their living by carting ice-cold water out there each day to sell to hikers).

As for the time taken .... our group varied from super-fit 30 year olds, to moderately fit 60 somethings. We all completed the walk in less than 4 hours. So the 5 hour timeframe is generous. Oh, and we all stopped many many times to take photos and to replenish our calorie stores. (It's a much easier recovery if you eat along the way.)

I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time. Enjoy!
Kaye

Re: Yangtse and the Southwest

Hi guys

I'm heading on this trip on the 22 nd of october and was just wondering if its possible during the few days in Lijiang to do a trip - possibly hiking through tiger leaping gorge or at least part of it.

From the trip itinerary it seems like we have quite a bit of free time there - are there any excursion avaialble?

Trisha

Re: Yangtse and the Southwest

Hello Trisha

Thank you for your post.

The Yangtse & the South-West tour does have some free time in Lijiang however there is not quite enough time to trek Tiget Leaping Gorge as this involves an overnight inside the gorge and is quite a difficult trek.

If you were interested in doing some trekking in the area the best thing to do is mention it to your tour leader and they will be able to advise on options in the vicinity.

I hope this helps and that you have a wonderful time on the tour!

Re: Yangtse and the Southwest

Cheers Kelly

Thanks very much for the reply. I don't know about you guys but I'm counting down the days!

Trisha

Re: Yangtse and the Southwest

Hi Andrea,

Sorry for the delay in my response but I have been extra busy since I have been back!

Ok, to answer your questions:

1/ for my free day in Hong Kong I slept as I was absolutely knackered, so I can't advise you on your best option there. There are PLENTY of shops, markets etc that you can lose yourself in but as this is at the start of a 3 week tour I would strongly recommend not to buy anything as you will spend the 3 weeks lugging around stuff that you wish you hadn't purchased! If you ask at the hotel reception they can suggest a few things to go and see in Hong Kong and they are very helpful in this regard.

2/ there are plenty of places to have your laundry done for a very reasonable price so don't worry about this. The tour leaders are very good at letting you know where to get it done and how long it will be before the next "laundry stop".

3/ overnight trains - are OK. The cabins fit 4 people each which can be pretty crowded but it is a good chance to spend some quality time with the other people on your tour. We made the most of it and ended up having heaps of fun! I personally didn't get much sleep on any of them but I am a bad sleeper at the best of times. They are clean and comfortable so no real complaints there.

4/ best town for shopping - all of 'em! But I made it my mission to refrain from too much shopping until I got to Beijing as I didn't want to be carrying too much stuff around.

5/ Souvenirs - gosh, I don't know where to start! Lots of things to buy - just start by looking at everything so by the time that you get to Beijing you will know exactly what you want. And don't forget to bargain, bargain, bargain.......

6/ Great Wall hike - I too was a bit concerned about this as I was taking a few injuries along with me. But I got through it and I am so glad that I did it! It does take about 4-5 hours and it is reasonably strenuous but it is thoroughly worth the effort. Just make sure that you take a hat, sunscreen and plenty of water (although you can buy water along the way).

One other thing - I think it was in Chengdu that a few of us arranged to hire a taxi and go out to a museum that was about an hours drive away. Can't think of the name of the place off the top of my head but your tour leader will know what I am talking about. We were all glad that we made the effort to go as it was great.

If you have any other questions please let me know and I will try to answer them as best as I can.

Re: Yangtse and the Southwest

The best thing I ever did was to see my doctor and get a prescription for mild sleeping tablets.

For each overnight train journey, I'd take two of them about twenty minutes before I wanted to enter dreamland.

I would have at least six hours of sleep and wake up refreshed and ready to go while most others on the trip yawned and struggled the next day.

Pure gold, I say.

Re: Yangtse and the Southwest

For the Great Wall hike, remember to wear light coloured clothing. I went in late October and it was quite warm. I think it was the Jinshaling section about three hours out of Beijing that I visited on the China explored trip last year.

Some sections are quite steep so it helps if you can travel with a minimum amount of weight. Keeping your day pack light will allow you to bounce around quite easily and not feel like the floor of a New York taxi at the end of the day.

One of things I like to do is walk the Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong. I take a breal at the Pacific Coffee Company and watch the people pose in front of the Bruce Lee statue. I'll also take the harbour cruise from the Star Ferry terminal just before the sunset cruise they offer. By going just before, you save a lot of money, and still get a good view of the sunset and lights. Finally, I'll cap it all off by watching the 8PM light show over the harbour.

All in all, it makes for a fun afternoon/early evening.

Re: Yangtse and the Southwest

Hi Andrea,

I did the tour this time last year and loved it; Lijiang was my particular favourite, destination-wise, just because of the relaxed atmosphere and sheer variety. I'd agree that your tour-guide will have some great suggestions, but it might be worth picking up a Rough Guide or Lonely Planet. If nothing else, they're great for added background and history.

The trains were great (check out the other carriages if you can!); you'll be given plenty of time to stock up on food etc before you board, and the journeys give you a great opportunity to see more of the countryside. My suggestion might be to invest in a silk sleeping bag liner. They pack down to practiacally nothing, and if you have sensitive skin like me it'll make the overnight train journeys even more comfortable; but they're by no means essential, everyone else on my trip were fine without!

Have a fab time!

Re: Yangtse and the Southwest

Thanks for the replies everyone! All the advice is much appreciated. For those of you that went to China in September, what was the weather like at night? I'm expecting it to be quite warm during the day but was wondering if it does cool down at night.